South Shore firefighters know danger of high winds, old construction

High winds and older construction methods are two factors believed to have contributed to Wednesday's fatal blaze in Boston's Back Bay.

Patrick Ronan, Neal Simpson And Jessica TrufantThe Patriot Ledger

BOSTON - The volatile combination of high winds and older construction methods – two factors believed to have contributed to Wednesday’s fatal blaze in Boston’s Back Bay – is often encountered by firefighters on the South Shore, fire officials say.

Boston fire officials say Wednesday’s fire, which drew more than 150 firefighters and sent 13 to the hospital, was fanned by strong winds off the Charles River as it ripped through the floors of a Beacon Street brownstone. The cause remains under investigation, but some experts suspect that an outdated style of construction known as “balloon framing” may have allowed the fire to spread rapidly through the building.

“It’s too early to determine what happened. Some kind of extraordinary event happened in the basement,” Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said Thursday, adding that “nothing has been ruled in or out.”

MacDonald could not say what framing method was used in the construction of the building, but Ken Willette, the public fire protection manager for the Quincy-based National Fire Protection Association, said buildings of that era were almost certainly built with a “balloon” frame that lacks fire-stops between floors.

Willette said the balloon-frame method of construction, which was primarily used from the late 1800s until 1940 and remains common in New England buildings, poses a special risk to firefighters because it creates empty spaces in walls that can serve as a conduit to spread fire from one corner of a building to another before anyone notices it. Unlike modern “platform framing,” in which each floor is framed separately, balloon frames employ long studs that can stretch from the basement to the attic, creating unbroken gaps that run the height of the building.

“It can quickly turn from a basement fire to a fire in the attic,” Cohasset Fire Chief Robert Silvia said. “Void spaces turn into chimneys in older buildings.”

Willette, a former fire chief in Concord and Wilbraham, said firefighters are trained to look for hidden pockets of fire, especially when they get reports of flames or smoke coming from different places in a building.

“You can believe that you’re in an area that is clear of fire when in fact it could be in the walls around you,” he said. “Then, when it finds an avenue from inside the walls to where you’re at, it can come in explosively.”

Quincy fire Lt. John Carroll said even the more modern platform-based structures, with fire-stop blocks built into the walls, can be susceptible to fast-moving fires if boards are removed to make room for pipes and electrical wiring.

“If (the walls) are not completely closed, it creates a void that allows heat and flame to pass through,” Carroll said.

Carroll said building methods are just one of several key factors that contribute to how quickly a fire moves and the danger it poses to first responders. He said strong winds can be the worst offender.

“The wind takes a situation that a lot of times is manageable and makes it unmanageable,” Carroll said.

Marshfield Fire Chief Kevin Robinson said news of Wednesday’s fire in Boston immediately brought him back to Nov. 6, 2012, when the ceiling of a Humarock house unexpectedly collapsed, trapping Lt. Joseph Kalinowski, while firefighters were fighting a wind-whipped blaze. He said the incident, which Kalinowski survived, was a reminder of how quickly conditions can change when fighting a fire.

“In that case, the outward appearance was that it was safe to make entry, and until the collapse, there was no indication that it was a bad decision,” he said.

Robinson said nearly all older, wooden homes are balloon-framed, which indicates to firefighters that they need to keep an eye on all corners of the structure.

“The fire might appear to be in the right front corner, or the left rear, but we pay attention to signs that it’s traveling,” he said.